Diary of Trainer Seth

by MinnieSchiffer

Seth Rhines, unlike his father Norman, was not a trainer, and instead held a passion for exploration. Yet, not long after arriving in Hoenn, he received his first Pokémon, and together the two of them set out to explore the region, having many a sexual adventure along the way! Rated M for lots of sex both gay and straight. You have been warned.

11. Summer

Seth didn't sleep very well that night.

In the wake of everyone praising him and comforting him after the events at the museum, it was easy to forget how close he'd been to serious injury or death at the hands of a criminal gang. Yet in his dreams, there was no escape; he tossed and turned throughout the night, flashes of Archie and various members of Team Aqua haunting his dreams.

Often, he'd lurch awake in the middle of the night, startled to wakefulness by the terrifying visuals of his pokémon falling one after the other. Yet every time he did so, he'd be greeted by Kyra's visage, her soft red eyes peering down into his. Just seeing her would be enough to calm Seth down and allow him to drift back into sleep, her fingers intertwined with his.

When the sun rose, Seth was less than rested, but he knew that he needed to get out and about. Attempting to sleep in would just take him back to his nightmares and make things worse.

"Alright, maybe I'll visit the markets today." Seth climbed out of bed, waking Princess in the process, the serpent lifting her head from the pillow and humming softly. Kyra frowned, a wave of annoyance entering Seth's mind from her end. He glanced back at her, but she had already teleported off of the bed. She appeared by his travel gear and spent a few seconds rifling through it. Before Seth could question her, she found what she was looking forward and tossed it at him. He flinched and caught the object, which turned out to be his goggles. He remembered with a start that Kyra had wanted to visit the beach. "Right, right, beach first, while we still have the sun."

As Seth readied himself for the day, he flipped on the TV to catch the weather channel. It turned out that if he wanted to see the beach, he'd have to do it now; a rainstorm was promised to hit from the sea that afternoon. Therefore, he slid on his bathing suit and a sleeveless shirt, and then he grabbed everything else he'd need for a day out and after recalling Princess to her pokéball, he proceeded to exit to the streets.

Seth remembered his way back to the beach from the hotel, so he decided to forgo the bus and take a leisurely walk through the city. The first thing he noticed was a higher police presence in the streets, their cars passing him at what felt like every few minutes. This made him feel somewhat better that the law enforcement was keeping an eye out for any further team activity.

When he reached the beach, he spotted the sign that pointed people to the two respective beaches. Out of habit, Seth made for the safe beach...only to promptly stumble and trip when Kyra tugged on his ankle rather forcefully with her telekinesis.

"Hey!" Seth complained. Kyra was equally indignant, her finger pointing in the direction of the other beach. He froze, his cheeks coloring when he recalled that it was that particular beach that she wanted to visit. He hesitated; it would only be awkward for him if he went that way. Yet Kyra was insistent; she continued to point her finger in that direction, her lips curling into an angry pout.

"...if I said no, would you even let me head the other way?" Seth asked weakly, overly conscious of her still present grip on his ankle. Kyra smiled smugly, giving his ankle a few tugs. He debated picking her up and heading to the safe beach, but eventually gave in with a heavy sigh, bracing himself mentally for what was to come. Kyra chirped happily and she proceeded to drag him down that direction. Seth stumbled again as a result. "Hey, I'm going! You don't need to tug me!"

When the two of them walked down that path, they soon came upon another sign containing rules for this area of the beach. Seth managed to convince Kyra to be patient just long enough for him to look at them.

Firstly, the sign made it clear that clothing was optional in this area and that all sexual intercourse should be kept in this area. As he'd expected, there was a minimum age (the age of consent, of course) for those seeking to enter. What surprised him was that there was a maximum age as well, which was set at forty-five years.

Following that rule was one stating that all further laws addressing sexual activity still applied. Seth imagined that consent was involved in such laws.

Additionally, there was a message at the bottom of the board warning beach-goers to stay hydrated, especially during the warmer months. Seth had to agree with that one. Every time he'd had sex, he always ended up sweating from the exertion. No doubt doing so in the sun would put him at risk for heat exhaustion if he wasn't careful.

Unable to find any other excuse to tarry, Seth reluctantly made his way forward. After having to present his identification to beach security, he entered the beach proper. What he found both was and wasn't what he expected from a beach like this.

The first thing he noticed was that everyone present was more or less naked. To his left as he walked forward, a modestly attractive woman lay back on her towel sunning herself, her breasts exposed to the open air. Up ahead, a woman and what Seth assumed was her boyfriend walked forward towards the water, their butts on open display. To his right, against the beach wall, a group of three were situated; one man and two women. The man was laying on his back while one of the women had her hand wrapped around his exposed shaft, gently stroking it.

Seth flushed and kept walking. It was certainly true that he could see people engaging in various sexual acts wherever he looked; far to his left he could see a young man sitting on the stairs leading to a small cabin, blushing and watching the girl on her knees in front of him, his shaft resting securely in her mouth. Another group of girls in the distance were being thoroughly entertained by one of their number, who had a Shellder tucked between her legs, the pokémon pleasuring her with its long tongue. Not far from them, a trainer eagerly watched them even as he humped up beneath the tail of his squeaking Vaporeon. And of course, Seth even thought he saw a pile of five or six trainers at the edge of his range of vision.

Yet despite all of this, the sex wasn't nearly as widespread as he was expecting. The great majority of the people were content to sun themselves, watch the antics of the others, or play in the water just like anyone would do at the beach. The only difference was that they were naked.

Mere moments after Seth had entered the beach proper, he felt a surge of mischief from Kyra. Yet he didn't even get a chance to ask before his bathing suit was suddenly tugged down to his ankles, leaving him naked in front of all of the people around him. Seth's heart pounded with shock and he instinctively covered himself...but he wasn't fast enough to avoid the gazes of the people around him.

"Hey, pretty boy! Nice butt!" A girl called to Seth from behind him, even as his ears filled with whistles and other sounds of approval from onlookers...several of which were male. Seth's cheeks burned so greatly that he felt it even rivaled the sun's heat. He glared at Kyra, even as he stepped out of his suit. Kyra radiated smugness, even as she did her best to appear cute and innocent.

"You are just determined to embarrass me," Seth complained as he continued to walk. As literally naked as he felt, he forced himself to remember that everyone else was as well, and that such behavior was expected here. Kyra naturally didn't exhibit even the smallest amount of shame or regret for her actions.

Picking his way through the people, Seth found a standing umbrella that was designated for public use and lay out a towel beneath it for him to lay upon. As he did so, he could feel people's eyes upon him with every motion. He would resent it if it weren't for the fact that it was also flattering. He found it hard to believe that people could find him so attractive.

After purchasing a cold drink from a stand near the entrance, Seth relaxed beneath the umbrella with a sigh. He released Princess from her pokéball so she could relax with them, much to her appreciation. Thus, he decided to take some time to rest with his pokémon, relishing in the heat.

Occasionally, he'd open his eyes, and he'd see people passing by. One of these times, as he watched a man walk by, he realized something about himself. He wasn't disgusted by any of what he was seeing. In Johto, in the midst of his sexual education classes (that consisted solely of the lesson "don't do it"), Seth had learned that the proper reaction for him as a man to seeing another man naked was to show disgust, and for a woman, he had to avert his eyes or risk being labeled a pig.

Yet he didn't feel any of that disgust, even though he could see male genitals every which way he looked. Even when a man turned around and gave Seth a full view of his rear, he found it essentially the same as looking as a female butt...albeit with slightly more hair. His mind flashed to Brawly, who had brought up the idea of male on male relations, and he found himself deep in thought. Was it really so strange? Maybe now that he was in Hoenn, a place with seemingly no sexual taboos, maybe experimentation wouldn't be out of the question. Seth flinched, finding it odd that he'd even think that. Hoenn was definitely having an effect on him.

After a short time, Seth realized that he was erect, his shaft sticking straight up for anyone to see. He flushed, refusing to make eye contact with anyone around him. He guessed it was unavoidable; what with those thoughts and the presence of so many sexually stimulating people and acts around him.

Seth felt Kyra's lust before he saw her. He heard her hum, and then she was climbing atop of him. He yelped as he felt her resting her soft green butt against his shaft, but any further sound he made was cut off by Kyra's lips pressing up against his. He could feel her waves of lust and impatience flooding into his mind, such that he could only reciprocate.

He was greatly embarrassed, because he was about to have sex in the middle of a crowd of people, some of whom were already watching with interest. Knowing that other people were doing similar things didn't make it any easier for him.

"Kyra, this is...should we really…" Seth opened his mouth, but Kyra cut him off by pressing a finger to his lips. She wiggled her hips, grinding her rump against his shaft, leaving behind a wet sheen of her arousal glistening upon his skin. He whimpered helplessly beneath her, realizing that there was no escape from her.

"Hey, they're about to go at it." Seth's embarrassment grew when a couple around his age paused , catching sight of what he was doing with Kyra. "Is that a Kirlia?"

"She's pretty small; will he even fit?" the girl added with interest. The two of them decided to take the spot beneath the umbrella right beside Seth. "Wow, he's hot. What do you think? You're into femboys, right?"

"Yeah, he's not bad. Think he's into men?"

Seth wanted to argue that he didn't consider himself a femboy in the slightest, but Kyra lips were practically glued to his, preventing him from making any sound other than helpless grunts. He gasped, feeling her telekinetic grip close around his length and stroke him gently. His breathing quickened, and despite his misgivings, he found it difficult to think of anything except how much he wanted to be inside Kyra.

Kyra giggled, the Kirlia able to feel his desire. She gently lifted herself into the air, did a little twirl, and then she lowered herself down onto Seth's shaft, the tip parting her folds and slipping inside. She let out a soft coo, her cheeks blushing a light pink as she allowed herself to be penetrated.

Seth reached forward and grasped her hips gently, keeping her from going too far down on accident. Like before, he couldn't get all the way in due to her small size, but it was far enough that he could feel the heat of her sex closing in around his member pleasurably.

"Kyra...this is so embarrassing," Seth admitted aloud now that his lips were free, even as Kyra started to roll her hips atop of him. He glanced over at the couple long enough to notice that they were still watching, only now the man was fully erect and the woman was starting to pleasure herself with her fingers. Yet Kyra didn't seem to care. "Kyra, they're watching…"

To his surprise, Seth only felt her lust intensify after he said that, as if the fact that she was giving a show only turned her on. There was only one explanation: Kyra must enjoy the attention she had while she made love to him out in public.

"Mmfff, fuck that little green pussy," the woman emitted as she watched, her voice heavily laden with arousal. She grabbed her boyfriend by the wrist. "I'm getting really horny. Lay back so I can get on that dick."

As the couple began to have sex as well, Seth started to give in entirely. As embarrassed as he felt, he could see that the people around him only enjoyed the show, and Kyra herself was working up to a steady speed, her pigtails flopping up and down as her aroused cries grew louder by the moment.

Kyra's lust became mixed with happiness as Seth hesitantly began to thrust up into her, his actions causing the sand beneath the towel upon which he lay to shift. He was of course careful with every thrust; he didn't want to hurt her. He reached up his hands and laced them with hers, a small smile on his face. Despite the circumstances, he really did enjoy when he could be intimate with her like this. It always felt more special with her.

"Ahhnn...Kyra! I'm...I'm gonna cum…!" Seth warned her, only moments before he felt himself climax. His cheeks blazed red as he opened his mouth and moaned loudly for everyone to hear, unable to keep himself quiet in the wake of such pleasure. He filled Kyra up with his seed to the point of overflowing, the remnants trickling down his shaft onto the towel.

"Oh my gosh, he just came inside of that little Kirlia. That's soo hot!" Seth could hear the woman beside him say as she bounced her butt on top of her boyfriend's lap "You better do it inside me too, buddy!"

"You really enjoy doing that with me when other people can see?" Seth turned his attention back to Kyra, speaking softly so only she could hear. Kyra nodded happily as she pulled Seth out of her, his cum dripping out of her onto his crotch. She pressed herself to his chest, so he wrapped a loving arm around her. "I think May would say that's a kink of some kind. I'm still embarrassed they all saw me do that to you…but I'm not upset. I guess we're learning more about one another every time, huh?"

Kyra hummed happily, and the two of them were content to cuddle there with one another, Princess curled up around both of them. They lay like that for nearly an hour. The couple, once they finished, expressed their gratefulness to Seth for the show before they moved on, but he couldn't bring himself to answer.

Before long, the heat started to get to him, and Princess was starting to get restless. Seth had the thought of once again exploring under the waves with Princess, so he stood and grabbed his goggles.

"Princess, want to head out to the water?" Barely had the question left his mouth than Princess let out a happy cry, and she started to slither down. Seth chuckled, and once he made sure Kyra was comfortable, he ran to catch up with the Milotic. As soon as Milotic slipped into the waves, Seth climbed atop of her and donned his goggles, shuddering at how cold the water felt on his skin at first. "Alright, let's get out there!"

There was something different about Princess's movements, however, as they danced amidst the waves. Back at Petalburg, her movements had been smooth and slick, but now Seth could feel her squirming beneath him.

"Princess, is something the matter?" Seth asked, placing a hand against her neck. Princess churred softly and she looked back at him, her cheeks looking somewhat flushed. Before Seth could ask, Princess pushed her snout up against his lips in a manner akin to a kiss. Seth's eyes widened at the unexpected affection, and he was even more surprised when she held the kiss, her serpentine tongue slipping into his mouth. Seth had never had a tongue in his mouth quite like that, so it was strange to feel it wrapping around his. When Princess finally broke away, Seth understood. "Oh...you're in the mood. I'm sorry, I should have thought about you when Kyra and I were doing it in front of you."

Princess nuzzled him, and then he felt her rolling her whole body beneath him. Seth had to hold on and adjust his position carefully or risk falling off of her. Now, he was sitting on her belly as Princess looked back at him. She nudged his chest, applying just enough pressure for Seth to take the hint. He looked back to see Princess's engorged entrance that he'd interacted with only once before. Understanding what she wanted, Seth turned the other way and lowered his lips to her entrance, resolving to pleasure her in the same way he did before. As he gave her slit a lick, he found it tasted heavily of salt due to the sea water they'd been swimming in. Yet it wasn't enough to dissuade him, especially when he heard Princess crooning with happiness and pleasure. Thus, as they floated lazily back through the ebb and flow of the waves, Seth dove inside of Princess, giving her the best attention that he could muster.

Princess soon came, her liquids rushing forth to meet Seth's open mouth. As she did so, however, Seth became aware that he was erect once again, his length pressing uncomfortably against Princess's scales. He had an idea; he turned his body the other direction so he could look back at Princess, who was watching him questioningly, likely wondering why he had stopped. She squeaked when she felt his shaft brush up against her entrance, and she exhaled sharply.

"Hey...I'm not sure if this will work because of how large you are, but...are you willing to try it with me?" Seth asked tentatively. Princess responded with a slow nod, her flushed cheeks growing a deeper shade of red. "Alright...let's see if I can."

Seth pressed his tip to her entrance and pushed himself inside without much resistance. Unlike Kyra or the girls he'd been with, there was plenty of room inside of Princess, such that there was little friction. At first he thought it wouldn't work, but then he felt her coils harden, and suddenly her inner walls constricted around his length, providing him with comparable pleasure to any human woman.

"Oh wow...Princess…" Seth moaned her name as he started to hump up against her scales, hugging her body tightly to use as leverage. He was having sex with his Milotic out here in the waves; something he never thought he'd think to himself. Yet now that he started, he couldn't stop. The way Princess was looking at him was so cute and arousing that he couldn't help thrusting into her and making her squirm.

Princess eventually began to swim, and he realized as she ducked her head down what she was about to do. Seth took a deep breath just as the two of them dove beneath the sea. Yet, even as he was submerged in a world of blue, Seth held her tightly and continued to thrust. It was hard, but she wasn't below water for very long, so he was able to take in a deep breath.

Just like that, Seth and Princess fornicated together in the waves, dipping above and below the water at regular intervals. It was a surreal and romantic experience, so even without being able to directly feel Princess's lust as he could Kyra, he felt just as good. When he at last climaxed, Seth moaned his pleasure out loudly and clung to her tightly as he pumped her full of his sticky white seed.

"That was wonderful, Princess," Seth hugged his Milotic's neck and kissed her briefly, riding the high from that incredible orgasm. "I've glad my first real time with you was out here in the ocean."

Princess crooned softly, her movements once again becoming smooth and relaxed. She tapped his nose with her tail, signalling Seth to take a deep breath as they dove beneath the water's surface once more.

---

When the storm clouds started to come in from the sea, Seth packed up his things, dressed, and returned to the city streets. All things considered, that beach trip could have gone much worse. Nobody had made any advances on him apart from the odd compliment once he made it clear his attention was solely focused on his pokémon, so he didn't have to worry about turning down strangers.

Doing the sensible thing, Seth returned to his hotel and washed himself clean of salt and leftover semen, and then after dressing and grabbing an umbrella, he made his way back into the streets. Without the pressure of a gym or a team hanging over his head, he was determined to explore the city and see as much as he could see before it was time for him to move on.

The city was too large to walk through, so Seth rode the bus to the different locations, using a tourists brochure to guide him from one place to another. His first stop turned out to be the Pokémon Fan Club that Jim had told him about. It was open to the public, so Seth poked inside to see what it was all about.

The interior of the club was more akin to a lounge, as its furniture and floors were clearly designed for comfort. Additionally, there was a bar that served drinks and light refreshments. Seth at first thought that he wouldn't mind spending time here, but he quickly discovered how out of place he was. The regulars of the club appeared to be middle aged individuals in their forties, fawning over their pokémon.

He also discovered that they greatly disliked those who engaged in pokémon battles. They were polite to Seth as he entered, but the moment it became clear that he was taking the League challenge, their gazes became colder and their sentences shorter. Seth eventually left, as he felt very unwelcome.

His next stop was the large open air markets, consisting of scores of stalls and stands where vendors were selling everything from handmade arts and crafts, to protein shakes to furniture. Despite the rain that was now starting to fall, the vendors showed no signs of packing up, using tents and tarps to keep their wares dry.

Seth perused the markets, but didn't buy anything. His gear already weighed a lot, so he couldn't afford to buy any souvenirs that would just weigh him down on his long journey to come. Yet it was interesting to see the things that people made: one person sat underneath his tarp, painting a surreal image of a trainer and his pokémon upon his canvas. Another person was carving the images of common pokémon out of chunks of wood with a knife. Still another was selling jewelry made from small chunks of colored stones.

Eventually, he ran out of daylight and had to return to the hotel to prepare for another day. The following morning, he went out on the city once again. The next few days went in a similar fashion as he did his best to take in everything Slateport had to offer.

Notably, he visited the contest hall, eager to see if what he'd seen in the game was accurate to real life. He got to witness his first pokémon contest and found that the game was in fact rather faithful. The trainers and their pokémon would wear various outfits and present themselves before the crowd, who would vote on which was their favorite. Then the appeal stage occurred, where each pokémon would show off their moves in a performance alongside their trainer.

Kyra showed an interest in the contest as well, so Seth looked into what it would take to enter one of them...only to find out it was extremely complicated: he'd have to find something to wear and rehearse a performance in order to make a good appeal. As that would take time, Seth promised Kyra that they could come up with something on the road, and eventually they'd enter a contest together.

When Seth was confident he'd done enough in Slateport for the time being, he checked out of the hotel one morning and set out on the trail north. His next goal was to visit Verdanturf, as he was fairly set on visiting Wally again. Remembering the directions Brawly gave him, his next stop was Mauville, which lay directly north.

According to his map, there were three ways to get to Mauville: the highway meant for cars, the rocky land bridge made for trainers, and the region's famous cycling road. Seth stood at the foot of the cycling road, gazing up at it in awe. Made from metal and concrete, the cycling road was more akin to a large bridge that twisted and turned its way across the Ariake Sea, totaling seventy miles in all. Additionally, only those with bicycles of some kind could access the road.

Seth etched its features into his mind, but had to pass it by in the end. He didn't have a bike, and had no interest in getting one. It would just prove to be one more thing to cart around, and often he wouldn't be able to use it if the terrain became too rough. No, he enjoyed his leisurely walks through the wilderness with Kyra. Therefore, he directed his path towards the land bridge that would take him across the sea.

After a night camping on the bridge, Seth came into contact with another trainer who seemed to be heading the same direction. However, when Seth spotted him, the trainer was peering around the side of a boulder as if hiding from something.

"Is something wrong?" Seth asked the trainer. His sudden question startled the trainer, who let out a yelp of shock. Seth heard the sound of something scurrying away through the grass on the path ahead as a result.

"Damn it, you made me scare it away!" the trainer snapped in annoyance. "There's a rare pokémon I've been chasing for the past few hours out here on the land bridge, and the thing is so skittish it bolts at the slightest sound."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." Seth apologized. The trainer sighed and turned to face him.

"It's fine, I guess. I'll just spend another hour sneaking up on it." The trainer got a good look at Seth, and then strangely enough he seemed to recognize him. "Hey, you're Seth, aren't you? I saw you on the gym channel the other day, taking on Brawly. I'm Daniel, and I'm just about to take on the league myself."

"That was me, yeah." Seth knew it wasn't that strange that some people would have seen him on television, but it was a weird feeling to have a total stranger recognize him. "So what's this rare pokémon you were talking about? I haven't seen anything out here except for Wingull, Zigzagoon, and the odd Electrike."

"That's just it; it's a pokémon that has no business being down this far south; Vulpix!" Daniel exclaimed, his eyes filled with greed. Seth blinked, recognizing the name of the pokémon.

"Really? That is weird; those are rare even in Johto," Seth found that he was interested now, if only to discover the answer to this mystery. "Do they not typically come down this way?"

"Never, actually. You can find them on Mt. Chimney if you're lucky...and I mean really lucky. I can only guess that all that Team Magma activity around the mountain drove it down this way." Daniel answered excitedly. Seth winced at the mention of Team Magma, but he kept quiet. Daniel raised his hand to show Seth the pokéball clutched tightly in his fingers. "I've decided I'm going to catch it and show it off to my friends up in Mauville!"

"What if I wanted to catch it?" Seth asked, much to both Daniel's and Kyra's surprise. He felt Kyra's reaction, and decided to explain himself as best he could, leaving out Team Aqua's role in his decision. "I've been needing to get more pokémon eventually, and Vulpix are cute, I suppose."

"Seriously? You'd show up out of the blue and take my catch out from under me? I saw it first!" Daniel seemed less than pleased to hear that. "You haven't been tracking it for hours like I have!"

"Maybe not, but you just gushed about how rare and unusual this is. How could I not be interested?" Seth pointed out. He noticed Daniel getting angier, so he decided to make a suggestion. "Why don't we battle for it?"

"What?" Daniel emitted in surprise.

"Pokémon battles usually have a wager to them, right? Why don't we wager that the loser has to give up on catching the Vulpix?" Seth suggested reasonably. Daniel calmed, finding that to be a sensible decision.

"More than that. Whoever loses has to help the other catch it." Daniel reached for the pokéballs at his belt, revealing two of them.

"Deal." Seth merely stepped back, giving the field to Kyra. Kyra still felt confused about everything, though there was a hint of excitement about the battle. As Daniel prepared, Seth knelt down by her side and whispered to her. "I know this is sudden, but if Archie hadn't spared us, we might never have made it out of that museum. Another member of our team could only help, right?"

Kyra nodded, her confusion giving way to understanding. She then gave her full focus to the battle to come. Her excitement rose when Daniel's first pokémon was revealed to be a Dustox, a pokémon that she hadn't faced off against in the past.

Despite that, the battle wasn't hard for him. Although Dustox was fully resistant to Kyra's leaves, the battle ended the moment she caught it in her telekinesis. Her type advantage allowed her to knock out the moth in a single mental attack, scrambling its mind ruthlessly. Daniel's second pokémon was another Poochyena, a pokémon Seth was beginning to realize was both easily found and commonly used by beginning trainers. Coincidentally, it was simple for Kyra to take out, resulting in his victory.

"I can't believe you beat me with just one pokémon," Daniel grumbled as the two of them sneaked down the path ahead towards the taller grass. Far ahead, the two of them could see a tuft of reddish fur sticking up from the grass, indicating the presence of their quarry. They had to be as quiet as possible, or risk scaring it away again. "Okay, this thing will run at the first sign of trouble. Any ideas?"

"I have one. Kyra, how close to you have to get to sense its emotions?" Seth asked. Kyra blinked, and Seth realized that he'd asked her a rather unclear question. "Sorry, let me rephrase: are you close enough to sense its emotions?"

Kyra shook her head. Seth cursed. There was no cover between here and where the Vulpix was hiding. The moment they made a move, the fox would notice them and bolt. He glanced at the water that bordered either side of the land bridge, and an idea came to him.

Seth released Princess into the water. "Princess, can you stealthily bring Kyra closer to that Vulpix over there by water?"

When Princess confirmed, Kyra hopped onto its back, and the two slowly made their way towards the Vulpix. The higher elevation of the land bridge meant that unless the Vulpix looked directly over the edge of the cliff, it wouldn't be able to see them. Thus, Kyra was able to get very close.

"What did you feel?" Seth asked once they'd returned and Kyra was once again standing before him. Kyra focused, and a wave of different emotions flowed over to Seth, one after the other. He first was struck with an overwhelming fear, and then the desire to hide and get away. Then, he felt a sense of loss and anxiety, followed by a strong desire to head back north...and then helplessness.

"It's afraid and wants to get away, but there's something it left behind up north...but it can't get back to it." Seth did his best to interpret the emotions Kyra was relaying to him, while Daniel listened curiously. "Hm...this could work if it can understand what I'm saying."

"It's worth a shot," Daniel agreed. Seth nodded, and then he grabbed one of the spare pokéballs from his bag. He inched as far forward as he could without revealing himself, and then he called out to the Vulpix in a clear, yet gentle voice.

"Hey, Vulpix? Can you hear me?" Seth wasn't certain if a wild pokémon would know the name of its own species, but he didn't know any other way to get its attention specifically. He peered around the side of the rocks, noting with relief that the Vulpix was still out there, though it didn't seem to have reacted. "My name is Seth. You don't have to worry anymore; we got rid of that scary trainer who was chasing you."

"Throw me under the bus, why don't you," Daniel grumbled quietly. He ended up eating his words as the Vulpix seemed to understand Seth, the fox shuffling through the grass. "Really, that's what worked?"

"Are you from Mt. Chimney? How come you're so far away from your home?" Seth knew it couldn't answer him, but he kept going; now that he knew it could understand him to a point, he wanted to make it feel safe. "I heard Team Magma was up there as well. Did they drive you away?"

There was more rustling of grass, and Seth's efforts were rewarded with a quiet cry. Kyra stiffened beside him, and more emotions flowed into Seth's mind. Seth felt rage along with helplessness, telling him that not only was he likely on the mark about Team Magma, but also that the Vulpix was now close enough for Kyra to sense its emotions.

"Would you like to come with us? We're headed up that direction as well; we can head to Verdanturf for a time and wait for Team Magma to leave, and then I can take you home to Mt. Chimney." Seth figured out halfway through this discourse that even if he did manage to catch this Vulpix, there was a good chance that their relationship would be temporary. It was regrettable due to his need for a larger team, but it wouldn't be any trouble for him to do something nice for this lost pokémon regardless. Kyra relayed suspicion to him from the Vulpix, telling Seth that it was slow to trust. "I'm sorry, that must sound too good to be true. I can promise you I don't have any hidden motives. In return for keeping you safe until then, I'd want you to join me as a companion and battle for me if I need your help. What do you say?"

There was a silence from the grass for several seconds. Seth remained quiet, patiently waiting for some kind of acknowledgment. His patience paid off; after a full minute, the Vulpix slowly pushed her way out of the grass. Seth slowly revealed himself as well, getting his first look at the fox.

The Vulpix was a quadruped mammal with reddish brown fur and six fluffy tails. Atop its head were curls of darker fur that resembled bangs, though they were ruffled and untidy due to its long journey south. It flinched upon seeing him, the fox retreating halfway back into the grass.

"Hey, it's just me. I'm not here to hurt you." Seth reassured it. The Vulpix did seem to relax after hearing his voice, associating his appearance with the voice it had been hearing. He retrieved from his bag a small pokémon treat he'd picked up from Slateport while shopping, making sure to keep his movements slow and methodical. He placed it on the ground before him and backed away.

The Vulpix seemed confused at first, but then it smelled the treat. It tilted its head and walked towards it. After sniffing it a few more times, it bit into the treat. Its eyes lit up and it made a pleased cry, and then the rest of the treat disappeared into its mouth in a matter of seconds. Seth smiled at the sight; Vulpix really were cute.

"So, do we have a deal?" Seth prompted the Vulpix. He reached out his hand and left it hanging in the air. The Vulpix stepped forward and sniffed his fingers first, and then it slowly reached forward and tapped his finger with a forepaw. Seth nodded, and then he brought out a pokéball and pressed the button to Vulpix's paw, bringing it inside and locking his capture with a click. "Whew."

"Damn you. You've got a way with pokémon." Daniel emerged from behind the rocks, looking less than pleased. "What the hell were you doing, promising it you'd let it go? You're a trainer, so you should make it be a part of your team!"

"I figured it left something behind, like a family or a possession. It just seems cruel to trick it into a life of battling when all it wants is to go home," Seth admitted, bouncing the pokéball in his hand. "I do need a larger team, but not at the expense of my conscience."

"That's ridiculous...what a waste. I should never have made that wager." Daniel grumbled. In bad grace, he stormed away from Seth, heading south along the path. "I'm going back to Slateport. Next time we meet, I'm gonna beat that Kirlia of yours to a pulp."

Seth watched him go, wincing at his threat. He wasn't particularly worried, however. Daniel's battle strategies needed serious work before he'd ever be a threat to him.

Seth put that encounter aside, deciding that he had something more important of which to take care. He released the Vulpix back out onto the grass and knelt down beside it.

"Hey. I wanted to introduce you to my other pokémon," Seth said to the Vulpix. Kyra approached, giving a slight curtsy and a smile. "This is Kyra, my partner and closest friend."

Vulpix sniffed at Kyra, and spoke to her with a soft cry. Kyra responded with a hum, the two communicating briefly together. Vulpix seemed to like what it was hearing, as it smiled and hopped once in place.

"This is my second pokémon, Princess." Seth introduced his Milotic next, the large serpent raising her head from the sea and peering down at the both of them. Vulpix's eyes widened with surprise and nearly bolted, but Kyra managed to keep her calm. "Don't worry, she's a sweet girl who's saved me many times."

"I realized I should give you a name. No one's named you yet, have they?" Seth said to the Vulpix. The fox blinked slowly, and then it shook its head. "Okay. I'll need to think of one real quick. First, do you mind if I pick you up?"

The Vulpix gave a worried cry and initially shied away from Seth's hands, but Kyra managed to calm it enough to allow Seth to place his hands around its belly. Its fur was soft and very warm, the small creature seeming to radiate heat. He lifted her gently long enough to get a quick look beneath its tail.

"You're a girl, then!" Seth observed, placing her back down. He glanced over at his other two pokémon, noticing how all of them were also female. He wondered briefly if this would become a trend.

Moving away from that train of thought, Seth thought hard about a decent name for Vulpix. She was warm and likely a fire-type, so he settled on something having to do with heat or fire. Yet everything he thought of ended up sounding like the protagonist to a bad video game, like Blaze or Fireball. Eventually, he decided on a simple name that was both feminine and symbolized heat.

"I think I'll call you Summer, after the season," Seth related to the Vulpix. After a brief moment of confusion, she nodded, accepting the name. "Yeah, that sounds pretty. Kyra, Princess, and Summer. You're already fitting in."

With that, Seth gained the third member of his team: the nervous Vulpix, Summer.

---

Another night passed as Seth continued to take his time crossing the land bridge. The rain returned that night, forcing Seth to set up his tent up early and take refuge to avoid getting soaked. As inconvenient as it was, there was something calming about resting with his pokémon in the tent as the light faded, rain pattering atop the nylon material.

The following morning, Seth pushed forward. If he didn't take as many breaks, he reasoned he could reach Mauville by nightfall. He was curious to see what the city would look like, compared to Slateport and Rustboro.

Yet it seemed as though this wasn't destined to happen. Seth noticed a commotion coming from ahead; a small group of trainers were gathered in a wider area of the land bridge, where it looked like a pokémon battle had just finished. When Seth recognized one of the trainers, he stopped dead.

"Type advantages really aren't your thing, huh?" May remarked with a hint of disappointment at the trainer before her, who appeared to have just lost to her. "Shroomish is cool and all, but Kotaro can take it apart with ease. Study up, and maybe next time you'll have a chance!"

"Easy for you to say when you didn't even use your Dusclops!" the trainer snapped back in bad grace as he returned to the others. "Damn...I figured if I could beat her, I could handle Mauville's gym."

Seth's mind raced. As much as it was good to see her again, he wasn't certain he was ready to battle her. He had three pokémon now, but he'd never had a chance to practice any strategies with Summer. Not to mention, the name that trainer had used to refer to Crux could only mean that he had evolved. Seth scowled; it wasn't fair that a pokémon so strong could evolve.

Strong determination emanated from Kyra, who rested her hand on Seth's thigh. Seth glanced at her to see the Kirlia glaring at May, a lust for battle rising within her. Seth sighed, recognizing that a battle was unavoidable at this point. It was plain to see that Kyra was eager for a rematch.

"Alright, so who's next? Don't tell me you guys stopped me just because I'm pretty." May taunted the rest of them, tossing one of her pokéballs from one hand to the other. "Come on, you were so eager a moment ago!"

"That was until you tossed us aside like ragdolls!" Another trainer retorted in annoyance.

"Speak for yourself; I wanted to battle someone strong!" a third trainer revealed, earning the gaze of a fourth trainer.

"Really? Turns out the one who made Brawly look like a joke could also make you look like a joke. What did you think would happen?"

"Don't you talk trash when I thrashed you not long ago!"

"Boys, really." May looked to be getting impatient, despite how she was chuckling at their interactions. "If no one else is gonna battle me, I need to get to Mauville. I have a hot date with that gym; I could use a real challenge."

"Think you could spare time for one more battle?" Seth caught everyone's attention by pushing his way through the small group of trainers to stand before May, Kyra following him close behind.

"Seth? Is that you?" May blinked with surprise, but then she beamed and ran forward, practically leaping at him to hug him around his neck tightly. Seth yelped and nearly fell over from her fervor. "Wow, I did not expect you to show up! How have you been doing?"

"It's been...eventful." Seth couldn't find a better way to express what he'd been through since seeing her last. May stepped away from Seth, but not before giving him a brief kiss on the lips.

"I'll say so! Is that Kyra? She looks so much stronger!" May praised Kyra, kneeling down to get a better look at her. "Did you end up beating Brawly?"

"I did. It sounds like you did too." Seth realized he was sounding rather short with her, but all he could think about was the battle to come, and the stress was starting to make its way into his voice. "I hear you 'made him look like a joke.'"

"Yep! It wasn't his fault, though. He's tough, but pokémon that rely only on their bodies to fight will never land a hit on my Crux," May responded. "Speaking of whom, you said you wanted to battle me, hmm?"

"It's more like Kyra does. I'm just trying to get it out of the way, because if I didn't ask, you probably would," Seth explained with a shrug. He realized with a start how annoyed he'd just sounded.

"Hey, uh...is everything okay?" May raised an eyebrow, having noticed the change in his tone. "You're being kinda short with me. Did I do something?"

"Oh no, I'm sorry. I'm just stressed," Seth admitted with a sigh. "I've been training hard with my pokémon, trying to come up with a way to beat you. And now that I've found you, I hear you've only gotten stronger."

"You should relax. It's nice you're being all competitive for once, but we're friends before we're trainers, right?" May reasoned with him, her voice softening. Seth nodded; he realized he was being unfair again. He was so hung up on wanting to beat her that he kept viewing her like an obstacle to overcome, instead of the friend who had welcomed him to Hoenn. "But, I am curious to see how you've improved. You don't have any ghost types, so you must have had it rough with Brawly."

"It was pretty rough. But we got through it, and my Kyra became a Kirlia," Seth revealed. He noticed the other trainers getting impatient around them; no doubt they wanted to see a battle as well. "But it would probably be easier to show you rather than tell you. I say again; do you have time for another battle?"

"I'm in no hurry. Besides, I know you can give me the challenge that they couldn't," May replied with a competitive glint entering her eyes. Her words naturally earned cries of annoyance and distaste from the other trainers. She winked at him. "Same stakes as before?"

"Works for me." Seth was too focused on the battle to come to feel embarrassed about the wager that she was talking about. He reached down to grip his first pokéball. He was leery about using her so soon, but there was no better way to see what she could do than this.

"Then let's get this battle started! You remember Kotaro, don't you?" May released her first pokémon onto the field, revealing that her Nincada too, had evolved. Unlike before, he was now an insectoid creature with a black body accented with yellow and gray, and two pairs of wings. His head was mostly golden, with a segmented carapace resembling a mask. For his means of attack, it had two long legs tipped with sharp gray blade like talons. He looked more like the ninja she named it after than ever before. "He's a Ninjask now! You might have trouble keeping up with his speed!"

"Noted." Seth released his first pokémon onto the field. Summer blinked, and then she nearly panicked when she noticed all the people around her. "Hey, Summer? Remember what I said about battling? This is May, and is the one I've been struggling to beat ever since I became a trainer. Do you think you could battle her Ninjask for me?"

"Oh my gosh, she's adorable! You just keep surprising me with every new pokémon you get; where did you even find a Vulpix this far south?" May gushed as she gazed at the fox. "You named her Summer? I like it!"

Summer looked between Seth and Kotaro, looking rather nervous. Yet regardless, she nodded, and turned to face Kotaro, her hackles starting to rise.

"Thanks, Summer. Right here, I want you to show me what you can do. And don't worry if you lose, I'll take care of you," Seth reassured the nervous fox. "You're one of us now, Summer."

"Awww, Seth, you make me want to snuggle you so bad. You're just so sweet to your pokémon it melts the heart," May expressed with a smile. "I hate to do this to something so cute, but Kotaro, bring her down quickly, please."

Kotaro buzzed in affirmation, and then it proceeded to zip across the field in the blink of an eye, possessing even more speed than before. Rather than going straight for Summer, he flew in circles around her at a pace impossible for Seth to follow with his eyes. He was so fast, all he could see of him were blurred images of it that persisted for only a split second. When it chose to strike, Seth feared that it would be over just like that.

This made it all the more shocking when Summer repulsed Kotaro with a burst of flame that erupted from the ground and expanded outward rapidly. Kotaro hissed and halted its assault, backing away from Summer as quickly as it could.

Summer's eyes glowed, and a line of bright orange flame appeared and grew in length and curving around her until it formed a circle, and then the flames rose upwards in a burning aura that caused the air to distort and shimmer around it. Yet there was still more to come. Three orbs of flame manifested in the air and floated around her in a slowly rotating circle.

"Is...that really a Vulpix?" May emitted in awe as she watched Summer's display of power. Seth too was surprised; he could feel the heat from her flames even from here. "Kotaro, keep your distance!"

Kotaro chittered in response. He flew up a good distance away from Summer and slashed the air with its claws repeatedly, causing white shockwaves of distorted air to rain down upon her. Summer saw them coming and sent the fireballs surrounding her up to meet them. Each impact caused an explosion of flame that littered the ground with sparks and embers, some of which caught the surrounding grass aflame.

Kotaro used the explosions as cover to hide his advance, and to Seth's horror, it zipped around behind Summer and then past her, raking a claw across her cheek. Yet, he didn't get away with it unscathed. The moment Summer felt pain, she allowed her aura to expand outwards, burning Kotaro badly in the process.

Summer cried out, and the flames around her intensified. The flames coiled upwards in a rotating vortex, and the heat was causing more fires to break out. The trainers had to release water pokémon to help keep the fire from spreading too far, even as they watched the fight with interest.

Summer's flames were also having an effect on the air. The heat was causing a powerful updraft, and cold air was gusting towards her to fill the resulting gap. Thus disturbed, Kotaro wobbled in the air, finding it hard to control his flight path as precisely as before. He was thus unprepared as Summer went on the offensive.

Smaller orbs of fire formed atop the tips of each of her six tails. Letting out a cry, Summer used each tail to hurl the fireballs up towards Kotaro. The Ninjask weaved in and out of them, but Summer didn't let up. Ultimately, Kotaro ran afoul of the updraft and was thrown off course...directly into one of the fireballs. The resulting explosion was more than enough to knock Kotaro out of the fight.

"Come back, Kotaro!" May recalled her Ninjask as the other trainers cheered. She wiped her face, sweat from the heat beading on her forehead and trickling down her cheek. "Dang, Seth. Your Vulpix is really powerful! My Kotaro is strong, and she brought him down so easily."

"I'm surprised too. I had no idea Summer was so capable," Seth walked forward and knelt down beside Summer, who had allowed the flames to die. The first thing he noticed was that she was tired, the fox breathing heavily and moving slowly.. He quickly surmised that she must have gone all out from the very beginning. "That was amazing, Summer. I can't thank you enough."

Seth reached forward his hand. Summer watched him carefully, but didn't stop him from stroking her side. She flicked her tails uncomfortably, but allowed it.

"But, you know that's not all there is," May teased, her arms crossed confidently. "Let's see how you react to my new and improved partner! Come on out, Crux!"

Seth narrowed his eyes. Here it was; the pokémon responsible for defeating him each and every time he battled May. Wisps of darkness tore away from the shadows of the rocks, the grass, and even the cycling road itself to form a singular pokémon that stood as tall as a human.

"That's….Crux?" Seth could hardly recognize him anymore. Crux was now a Dusclops, possessing a roundish gray body with two stubby legs and a singular red eye. He now had two silvery gray hands, along with similarly colored wisps of what appeared to be smoke trailing away from its head and shoulders. He stood as silent as the grave in the center of the field, unperturbed by the minor flames burning around it. Seth stepped back, thoroughly intimidated. "Summer...be very careful. Crux is our strongest opponent."

Summer nodded, and with a squeak of exertion, she roused up her flames once more. Additionally, she performed one extra action that Seth didn't recognize. This time, along with the three flaming orbs, she also summoned forth three similarly sized black orbs made from shadow. They were only present for a moment before they were sucked into Summer's body and disappeared.

"What did she just do?" May demanded, appearing as confused as Seth was. "Crux, don't give her a chance to pull anything funny on you. Suck her in and bring her down!"

In response, Crux's body unraveled, his skin tearing away as though he were a mummy to be unwrapped. The wisps of his body spread outwards to reveal nothing but a dark abyss inside of him, broken only by a single glowing red orb inside. Just like that, everything on the field started to be sucked inside of the abyss. Blades of grass, wisps of flame, and even rocks and soil disappeared into Crux's body and disappeared from existence.

Summer was affected as well. Although she bared her claws and dug them into the ground, she was inevitably being dragged towards Crux as well. She let out a cry and released the three flame orbs towards Crux in an attempt to force him to end the suction. The attempt was in vain, as each orb was sucked into the abyss that was now Crux.

As a last resort, Summer let go of the ground and broke into a run, allowing the suction to add to her momentum. She wreathed herself in flame and pounced upon Crux, hoping to end it all in one single attack.

"Summer, wait! He can…!" Seth tried to warn her, but it was too late. The eye within the depths of Crux flashed, and the Dusclops reconstituted its body, zipped to the side, and punched Summer hard directly opposite her momentum with one of its hands, knocking her out cold. "Gah, that confounded foresight!"

"Hehe...you still haven't found a way to counter that? You're in for a rough time then," May teased him, looking pleased at the way the clash had turned out. "Do you like Crux's new ability? Nothing can stand against him as he is now, not even...wait, what's happening?"

May cut off when Summer's body became wreathed in a shadowy aura, a malicious intent emanating from it. It was only for a moment, but Seth could feel rage and the desire for retribution just by looking at the aura. Crux flinched as his body too was wreathed in that same aura...but only for a moment. The aura around Crux tore away from him and was sucked into Summer's fallen form, and then the aura faded away as though it had never been. Summer still lay there, unmoving.

"Seth explain. What was that?" May asked, unsettled. Crux was holding a hand to his head; whatever had just happened had hurt him in some way.

"That's a good question. I just caught Summer yesterday; I don't know what all she can do," Seth admitted. Summer, despite whatever it was she just did, was still clearly knocked out, so he recalled her to her pokéball. Kyra expressed a desire to go next, but Seth wasn't keen on that. He still wanted to wear Crux down before letting Kyra take that risk. "But, we can talk about it when the battle is over. I still have two more pokémon left."

"That you do. I'm jealous of your luck in finding pokémon. First you find a Milotic of all pokémon, and then a Vulpix with abilities I've never even seen," May admitted. She quickly composed herself, her competitive nature returning. "Now, send out your next. Who is it going to be: your Milotic, or Kyra?"

"The Milotic's name is Princess, by the way," Seth corrected her as he proceeded to release said pokémon onto the field. Princess landed there and quickly took stock of the situation. She understood precisely what was going on the moment she spotted May and the imposing Crux before her. "Princess, that's the Duskull you faced before. It's stronger now, and has a suction ability that took out Summer. Be careful."

Princess hummed with acknowledgment, and then she sheathed herself with a veil of water. Additionally, she wrapped her body around a nearby boulder that had remained unmoved despite Crux's suction earlier.

"Hmm, so you're telling me if I have him pull you in, you'll just coil up and hold on," May reasoned after seeing that. "Fair enough. Crux, show off your new punches, would you?"

Crux silently lifted both of his hands, clenched them into fists, and wreathed them with electricity, much to Seth's dismay. Did Crux have an advantageous move against every single one of his pokémon?

One moment Crux was standing in the middle of the field, and the next, he'd disappeared, manifesting only as a shadow moving swiftly across the ground. Seth alerted Princess to the moving shadow, allowing her to slither away and bring a torrent of water down upon Crux the moment he emerged from the shadow.

Crux easily sidestepped the blow and rained punches down upon Princess. Each time a punch landed, Princess would recoil, the electricity coursing through her body painfully. Yet each burn left behind slowly healed, and the moment Princess grew accustomed to his rhythm, she attacked with a stream of water straight from her muzzle.

Crux was hit head on by the blow, knocking the Dusclops back into a nearby boulder. Seth gaped, as did May. Never had Crux been hit by a move like that. He was always smoke on the wind...so what had just happened?"

"Crux, baby, are you okay?" May called out to him with concern. "A move like that never should have hit you."

Crux shook it off and sunk back into shadow, using his speed to zip around Princess and punch her directly in the neck. Electricity coursed through Princess upon impact, leaving a burn mark on her body and causing her to reel back with pain. She retreated and swung her tail, releasing a horizontal arc of water towards Crux in retaliation.

Even as Crux was leaping to avoid the arc, Princess summoned a geyser of water that propelled her into the air, where she rotated her body and brought a water sheathed tail down atop of Crux. Once again, Crux was hit head on, knocking him into the ground with a loud crash. Seth's jaw dropped. That's twice now. Something was wrong.

"Crux...what's going on? Why didn't you use your foresight? You had plenty of time!" May called out once more, gesturing emphatically with her hands. Crux rose, shaking his head and looking just as confused as May and Seth. He immediately had to leap backwards repeatedly to avoid Princess's follow up attack, retaliating with a flurry of electrically charged punches, some of which landed and damaged Princess considerably. Yet Princess was also landing hits here and there as well, causing May's frustration to grow. "What is happening right now!?"

"Maybe it's not that he isn't using it...but that he can't?" Seth suggested, as he was equally as lost as May was.

"Of course he can use it! Why would he have…" May started to protest, but then a realization dawned on her face. "Your Vulpix. She must have done something with that darkness!"

"You're saying Summer somehow sealed away Crux's ability to use foresight?" Seth grew excited after hearing that. All this time, and now, through sheer dumb luck, he had a pokémon that could counter Crux's greatest strength. With just that, he began to see a change for victory. "Don't let up, Princess! He can't predict your moves anymore!"

Despite his encouragement and even despite Crux's handicap, Princess was still struggling. Even without foresight, Crux's punches possessed considerable force, and every time one landed, Princess grew slower and weaker. He never let up, using his speed to outmaneuver Princess and exploit her blind spots.

To retaliate, Princess brought up a ring of water and surrounded herself with it, blocking Crux's punches. Crux stared briefly at the ring of water, and then he submerged himself into shadow once more. Princess followed the shadow with her eyes, and she slithered to his predicted entry point and began to rotate her body around it at a high speed, causing a twister to form in the air.

It was a good idea, but when Crux emerged, it wasn't at the spot on the ground. Crux reformed high in the air and dived down right through the center of the twister,, bolts of electricity arcing from his knuckles. He brought his fist down hard on Princess's middle, halting the twister, cracking the ground beneath the point of impact and knocking her out.

"Alright, Kyra. It's your turn." Seth was calm and more invested in the battle than ever before. He recalled Princess, resolving to treat her as soon as possible. It was down to their last pokémon; a handicapped Crux again Kyra. Kyra teleported to the field in front of him, the Kirlia twirling in place. Excitement radiated from her despite the challenge awaiting her.

"I've been waiting for this. I want to see how strong she is now," May expressed; she too seemed as invested in this battle as Seth was. "Man, this is exactly what I wanted. Aren't you excited?"

"Not as excited as Kyra is," Seth remarked, though he had to admit to himself that Kyra's excitement was starting to rub off on him. The group of trainers surrounding them were also adding the atmosphere, some of them starting to make wagers among themselves. He could even hear cheers from high above; a small gathering of trainers had formed up at the edge of the cycling road to gaze down at the battle unfolding below. "Seems we're gathering quite a crowd."

"Everyone loves a good pokémon battle. Besides, you and I are new arrivals to the League Challenge. As long as we keep winning, people are bound to follow our progress." May put on a smirk as she shrugged. "Did you know some of these trainers stopped me by name?"

"I had one do the same, just before I caught Summer. Honestly, I didn't think I'd be known at all, just after two gyms," Seth returned. He noted impatience coming from Kyra, so he brought the conversation coming to a close. "But we'll talk afterward. Are you ready?"

"I should be asking you that. I've never lost with Crux. Even without foresight, he still has the advantage." May returned confidently. "Now, let's see what your Kyra is made of! Crux, do it!"

The moment those words left May's mouth, Kyra's eyes flashed. Just as Crux was starting to unravel himself in preparation for his strongest technique, Kyra teleported behind him without giving him a chance to react. With a wave of her hand, she blasted him away with a wave of psychic force. Crux tumbled end over end before righting himself, retaliating with a shadowy beam emanating from his eye. The beam crackled with power, emitting a low hum as it seemed to suck the light from its surroundings.

Kyra twirled in place and brought up her barrier, catching the beam head on. Such an attack would no doubt have broken her barrier before, back when she was a Ralts. Yet now, Kyra showed only mild exertion as she held back the powerful attack. The beam exploded with darkness, obscuring her vision. Yet Seth could see her eyes flash.

Crux waved his hands about, summoning orbs of darkness in the air around Kyra like a dark snow, and then he directed them down at her all at once. Yet Kyra knew where each and every one of them would land. Without needing to teleport, Kyra danced and twirled her way through the barrage, conjuring leaves and lifting rocks from her surroundings as she did so.

"Is...is she using foresight!?" May finally noticed Kyra's new strength as she wove her way through Crux's attacks. "How...but that's...not good."

"You're not the only one with a trump card now. Push your advantage, Kyra!" Seth felt his spirits rise as he began to feel that victory was within his reach.

Kyra bombarded Crux with a hail of charged leaves and rocks, but the ghost intercepted them with small beams of darkness. The air filled with an array of small explosions of violet and black as their attacks collided. Thinking quickly, Kyra lifted a large boulder twice her size from the side of the path and hurled it towards Crux.

Crux zipped forward and punched straight through the rock with a fist cloaked in freezing air. He dissolved into shadow and zoomed towards Kyra, who was ready for him. When he emerged, she moved her head to the side, allowing his fist to breeze past her. She lifted a hand and captured Crux in her telekinetic grip, but before she could throw him, Crux punched her directly in the chest with a shadowy fist.

Kyra gasped, saliva flying from her mouth as the wind gushed out of her. Yet she held on, and with both hands, she lifted Crux and hurled him up into the air, sending a shower of leaves up after him. Crux weathered the assault, clenched both of his hands together, and somersaulted down at Kyra. She danced to the side just as his fists slammed into the ground, easily shattering the rock.

"Now this is a pokémon battle!" Seth vaguely heard a trainer shout with exhilaration as the battle continued. As the battle gained in intensity, so did their cheers; some of them cheered for him, while others cheered for May.

Kyra twirled and blasted Crux with a wave of psychic force, but he lifted a barrier just in time to avoid taking the full brunt of the attack. Crux skidded backwards, his stubby legs kicking up a shower of dirt. Seth couldn't help but notice that Crux wasn't flying like he did as a Duskull.

Crux and Kyra glared at one another, each one showing signs of fatigue. Kyra breathed heavily, her posture slumping somewhat, while Crux's form was slightly wavering. Crux's eye narrowed, and he lifted both hands and began to fashion a ball of black energy between his palms. At the same time, his eye released bolts of darkness through the air, forcing Kyra to focus on avoiding them.

Finally, Crux pulled his hand back and then hurled the shadowy ball forward. Seth could feel its power, telling him that if Kyra was hit by that, the battle would be over. Yet Seth's warnings were unneeded. Kyra thrust both of her hands forward and expelled a wave of psychic force so dense that Seth could see it as violet pulsing waves.

The shadowy ball slowed considerably upon reaching the wave and threatened to be redirected. Crux thrust out his palms and channeled his own energy towards the ball, pushing back against Kyra's force.

The resulting struggle caused a gust of wind to race through the area, and dust and rocks rose from the ground to be suspended in midair. Kyra grunted and pushed forward, her fins glowing brightly as she channeled everything she had into keeping the ball away from her. Should she let up for even a second, the ball would hit her.

"Come on, Kyra! This is it!" Seth couldn't help but urge on his partner, knowing that this moment was everything that the two of them had been aiming for since their initial defeat at her hands.

"You can beat her, Crux!" May too was cheering on her pokémon.

It was even worse from the surrounding trainers. Their cheers grew now shouts at this point, some of them yelling themselves hoarse at whatever pokémon they'd chosen to root for.

At long last, something gave, and the mixing energies exploded violently, forcing Seth to cover his eyes from the resulting hail of wind and dust. Neither Kyra nor Crux were expelling any more energy, but the ball had stopped...directly in front of Kyra's outstretched hand.

"Wait...what? How did she…Crux, stop her!" The alarm was clear in May's voice as she urged her pokémon. Crux dashed forward, rearing his shadow cloaked fist back in preparation for a vicious punch. Seth felt his breath catch in his throat when Crux reached her.

Kyra twirled her body to the right, Crux's fist sailing right past her. Then, she thrust her palm forward, shoving the ball of shadow right into the center of Crux's body. The ghost's eye widened, and then the resulting explosion engulfed his body and sent him hurtling back across the field, his form hitting the ground and bouncing multiple times before coming to a halt at May's feet. Crux struggled to rise, but then he fell limp, his body starting to diffuse into smoke.

"Crux? Are you okay?" May asked in the short moment of silence, her voice sounding rather small. When he didn't rise, she gulped, her lip starting to tremble. "Did...I just lose?"

The surrounding crowd erupted with even louder cheers as the battle finally came to an end. Seth let out the breath that he'd been holding, unable to believe what he'd just witnessed. Just like May has having a hard time recognizing that she'd lost, he was having a hard time recognizing that he'd won. It hit him for real when Kyra, the poor pokémon struggling just to stand, turned to look at him with a bright smile, and the feeling of triumph surging over to him from the other side of the link.

"Yes!" That was all Seth could think of to say. He rushed forward and scooped Kyra up in his arms, exultation and pride filling him up from within. He stood up and twirled around with Kyra, her giggles filling the air. All his training with his father, all his studies at the library, and all of his battles up until this point had all been worth it. He'd beaten May. "We did it, Kyra! I'm so proud of you!"

May recalled Crux to his pokéball, and then she had to sit down, a heavy exhale leaving her as she stared disbelievingly at the spot where he had just been. A smile crossed her face despite the loss, and she couldn't keep from chuckling.

"Yikes. I've gotta hand it to you, Seth. I didn't expect to lose. The thought didn't even cross my mind." she admitted as the cheers started to die down, and people started to pay off their respective wagers. "You've really toughened up since we battled in Odale."

"I...may have been fixated on beating you," Seth confessed. He approached her and sat down beside her, still cradling Kyra as he did so. May raised an eyebrow, but she didn't get to respond before the other trainers started to come up to them and congratulate and thank them both.

One or two of them even propositioned May for sex, but she turned them down, saying that she was currently occupied in that respect. Seth flushed, remembering that he'd won the wager, which made May his for the night in every respect. He hadn't even been thinking about that; He'd just wanted to win.

"Just me? Wow, you really hate to lose, huh?" May commented to Seth when the trainers started to trickle away. She released Crux once more and started to treat him with potions she retrieved from her travel bags. Seth did the same with Kyra. "I don't remember you being this competitive."

"Me neither. I've never felt any drive to compete back in Johto," Seth related, recalling his early school days. "There were sports at my school, but I was never interested enough to put forth any effort."

"So what makes me so special?" May asked. Her words were teasing, but she seemed genuinely interested.

"I don't know. I think part of it is that I do feel something when someone else I care for gets passionate about something they enjoy." Seth released Summer next. After speaking to her softly in soothing words while praising her for her prowess, he treated her next. "Kyra really wanted to beat you. I could tell even before I could feel her emotions."

"So you got into it just because Kyra was? You're really all about her, aren't you?" May glanced at Kyra, who met her gaze and stuck her tongue out. "What are you sticking your tongue out at me for? You think I'm gonna get jealous? Wha...hey! Don't you give me that face."

Seth had to chuckle as May and Kyra proceeded to make faces at each other like misbehaving children. He felt as though all of his stress had just disappeared; he guessed he really did get too into it for Kyra's sake. Yet he was also pleased about his progress as a trainer. May was no pushover; she was stronger than both the gym leaders he'd battled so far… and he'd won against her.

"So, what position were you thinking?" May's question came at him without any warning, causing him to nearly drop the potion he was using to treat Princess. She snickered at his reaction. "What are you so surprised for? You won, so you get to lead! Though I guess that's a new thing for you."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Seth retorted as May jabbed him in the shoulder with her finger.

"That you're totally a sub, obviously," May answered without missing a beat. Seth blinked, being unfamiliar with that term. Noticing his confusion, May slapped her forehead. "Right, Johto. It means you like being told what to do in the bedroom. Am I wrong?"

"That's…" Seth tried to argue, but every time he could recall having sex, it was at the behest of another: May, Kyra, Princess, Roxanne...every single time. When Seth realized he didn't have any grounds to protest, he dipped his head in defeat. "I guess not…"

"Aww, you're just so cute I can't stand it!" May hugged him around the neck, which had the side effect of making him even more embarrassed than he already was. "There's nothing wrong with it! Some people are submissive, and others are dominant, and some switch. It's just a matter of preference."

"Then what do you prefer?" Seth asked, eager to take the conversation away from his own preferences.

"I switch, depending on the partner. Typically I'm a dom...but there are times when I let someone with a stronger will have their way with me," May answered readily. "But enough about that. Do you have any idea what you want to do to me? Other than just stick it in, obviously."

"There...is one thing I've been curious about…" Seth brought up shyly, ineffectively trying to hide his blushing cheeks behind his hair. He struggled to find a way to voice it without it sounding weird, with May's curious gaze on him all the while. "When I was back in Dewford, I uh...met with a guy who...had relations with another male."

"You mean Brawly? I heard all about you from him and Jocelyn," May correctly guessed just from that one sentence. Seth blanched; he supposed it made sense, considering he had warned Brawly that May was coming. Understanding dawned on May's face. "Oh, so you saw him plowing his Machoke. So you want my butt, then?"

"I...maybe?" Seth squeaked, much to May's amusement. "I didn't know that people could do that, so...I kinda want to see what it feels like. Is that too weird?"

"It's not weird at all, you doofus. Guys do it all the time with each other, and the kinkier girls like it too. Me, I'm just insatiable for all kinds of sex...with the right people of course," May explained. "So yeah, I'll let you put it in my butt. You gonna start taking off my clothes for me, or do I have to do that too?"

"Wait, we're doing it right now? Here?" Seth looked around. He could still see some of the trainers in the distance, and all three of his pokémon were all out of their balls as well. Kyra and Princess were all used to this, but Summer was following this conversation with a very confused expression. "But what if people walk by?"

"Who cares? Did you forget that there's no rules on public sex out here in the wild?" May reminded him. She leaned back against the rock, her legs stretched out before her. "Now get over here, and claim your reward…"

"Kyra?" Seth of course consulted his partner, who he knew could get jealous about his relations with May. Yet, strangely enough, Kyra merely gestured towards May with feelings of triumph, as if to indicate that he deserved this reward. Seth shook his head in exasperation; he just couldn't understand Kyra's complicated feelings towards May. "Alright, I'm going to take them off now."

Seth approached May, who obediently waited for him by the rock. He hesitantly reached for the hem of her pants while she watched him patiently. When it became clear she wasn't going to stop him, he hooked his fingers beneath the hem and pulled. May helpfully lifted her butt slightly off of the ground so he could remove her shorts and panties easier. Once her lower half was exposed to him, she slid forward and lay on her back, lifting her legs for him.

"Here, grab my legs," May directed him helpfully. Seth did as he was told, placing his hands in the crook beneath her knees and pushed her legs upward, giving him both a wonderful view of and easy access to her nethers. "There's some lubricant in my bag. You'll need it if you want to get it in without any pain. It'll be in a blue bott-oh, thanks Kyra."

The moment the instructions left her mouth, Kyra had opened up her bag and produced the correct bottle, floating it over to them with her telekinesis. It seems she'd remembered the time when Brawly had done the same to his Machoke, as Kyra was already applying it to the smaller hole just beneath May's wet entrance. When Seth had removed his pants, she even applied some to his member. It was a strange feeling, but not an unpleasant one.

"It's almost like Kyra wants this as much as you do," May commented with amusement. Kyra clicked her tongue as she backed away from May, a feeling of possessiveness towards Seth coming to him through their link. May then grasped her butt with both hands, spreading the cheeks for him. "Alright, I'm ready. It's all yours, cutie."

Seth nodded, and then using her legs as leverage, he pressed his tip to the small opening. He rolled his hips forward slowly, steadily applying pressure until his tip sank inside of her.

"Oh man…" Seth could already tell how differently it felt compared to how he normally had sex. It wasn't nearly as warm as her other hole, but it was a great deal tighter. He watched as her small opening expanded as he filled her, a perverse thrill passing through him at the sight. May gasped and bit her lip as he continued to push himself inside. She reached down with a hand to brush against her folds, rubbing her fingers up against it as Seth experimented. "It's so much tighter than I'm used to."

"Mff...isn't it?" May wiggled her butt beneath him, the sensation causing him to grunt with pleasure. "You don't need to be gentle with me; I've seen plenty of use back there, so it's not nearly as tight as someone like you."

"Like m-me?" Seth squeaked nervously at the thought as he pulled out and started to thrust. The lubricant made him slide easily in and out of her, and he had a hard time staying quiet as her tight anus squeezed his member mercilessly.

"Huff...oh yeah...have you looked in a mirror? You...aah...are really pretty. A lot of men go for...nnn...the femboy look…" May revealed in between moans. The faster Seth went, the louder she became. His balls slapped against her as he pushed into her and her legs wobbled in the air with every thrust. May slipped her fingers into her slit, several long moans escaping her. "Aaahh…! It's been….a while since a-anyone's fucked me there...mmmnngh….it's so good!"

"I feel so...n-naughty," Seth admitted as he pounded her into the ground. What he didn't say is that he very much liked this position; from here, it looked and felt as though he had May entirely at his mercy. The feeling that he had earned such an empowering position through beating May in battle only added to the psychological high he was feeling. "May, I...I really like this…"

"M-Mhmmm! Give it to me harder, Seth! My ass can take it!" May's cheeks colored a deep red as she looked down, intently watching the way Seth's slick member pushed in and out of her relentlessly. Seth obliged her, using the force of gravity to drive down into her as hard as he could, his hips slapping against her thighs noisily. May cried out, her eyes rolling up slightly; she held her crotch tightly as a burst of clear fluid squirted from within her onto herself and Seth. " Ooh, you're making me cum! K-Keep going!"

Kyra rested her back against Princess's coils, her skirt lifted up and moved to the side to reveal her green lower half. While watching her trainer have his way with May, Kyra pleasured herself using telekinetic force to part her folds and apply the needed pressure. Her euphoria at her victory, her lust, and her satisfaction towards the scene before her flowed into Seth, making his mind go blank, unable to focus on anything other than the heavenly sensation of May's ass wrapped around his shaft. All the while, Summer sat there, utterly confused by what was happening in front of her.

"M-May...I can't...I'm going to cum…! Can I…?" Seth tried to say, but the words were difficult to form in his current state of mind. All he knew is that the pleasure he felt was ramping up quickly and he was helpless to stop it.

"Yes! Do it in my ass!" May cried out shamelessly. Now that he had her consent, Seth stopped holding back, and he pushed himself against her and climaxed hard, his member throbbing inside of her tight anus. "I can feel it! Yesss…!"

"Maaay!" Seth moaned helplessly as he came inside of her, his warm seed swiftly filling her up and oozing out around his shaft, where it slowly trickled to the grass below. He could feel Kyra climax at the same time, adding to his high until he finally lay on the grass beside May, panting and spent. "That was...amazing."

"Yeah, no kidding. I think I'm gonna have a hard time walking," May admitted breathlessly. She reached over a hand to her bag an withdrew several tissues, with which she used to clean up the mess that was her crotch. "So, how was your first anal experience?"

"Very different than normal," Seth replied. He borrowed some of May's tissues to clean himself up as well; there was still a long way to Mauville and the last thing he wanted to do was lug around sticky pants for miles. "I'm glad I was able to try it out with you."

"No problem! I'm just enjoying seeing how much further I can turn you into a nympho like me," May joked in response. Seth snorted with amusement, and then the two of them lay silent there for a while, until May managed to get her pants on. "Okay, I think it's probably time we got moving. We probably won't even make it to the city before night falls."

"You're headed to Mauville too?" Seth rose as well, putting his pants on and gathering up his pokémon.

"Obviously. I still have to hit up Wattson, and earn me my third badge. You're going to do the same, right?"

"Eventually. I'm going to take a walk around Mauville and see what there is to see." With all of his gear packed, Seth was ready to get moving once more. May seemed ready as well, so the two of them set down the path together. "I might even put off the gym challenge until I've visited Verdanturf."

"Why, what's in Verdanturf?" May asked curiously.

"I made a friend back in Petalburg who lives there. I was there when he caught his first pokémon," Seth answered, seeing no reason to hide Wally from her. "His name is Wally; I've wanted to see him again since then."

"Oh really? Any intentions there?" May of course went the obvious route with her question, winking at Seth mischievously.

"I-Intentions? I..." Seth suddenly recalled his thought process back at the beach, when the thought of experimenting had crossed his mind. He then remembered that he'd found Wally cute, and the two thoughts collided to form a very confused and blushing Seth. "I...don't know...I wasn't thinking about it."

"Have I mentioned that you are just too adorable?" May reached over and ruffled Seth's hair, much to his annoyance.

"Many times…"

"No sweat! I know you're new to all this, so take your time! If things get there, great! If you don't swing that way, that's cool too! As long as you live and let live." May replied amicably. When she noticed that Seth still looked uncomfortable, she sighed and shrugged. "Let's switch topics then. We've got a long way to go, so why don't you tell me about your battle with Brawly?"

"That sounds good to me. First was when I started to sense Kyra's feelings…" Eager to change the topic, Seth began to retell his struggles with Brawly, leaving nothing out.

Like May said, there was a long way until Mauville.

---

Author's Note:

Hey all! I'm on fire recently with my writing! So I decided to push forward and reach the moment I've been wanting to get to every since I started his relationship with May! No, it's not the anal, it's the battle! When I played Emerald, the game obviously forces you to win against her every time, but I wanted more of a rivalry between them and to position her as an obstacle for Seth to overcome as he progressed as a trainer. So I had him lose the first two times, and it was here that he would win. And here I am, putting too much effort into a smut story. Go figure.

So that brings me to Summer, his third pokémon! I'm such a darned furry but I love that cute little fox! I may have also been inspired by Leki the deep dragon from that anime that no one remembers (*cue sounds of a Gardevoir breaking into the studio to blast them all for making a forgettable adaptation, but then only squees result when she learns of the 2019 reboot*) when it came to Summer's character. Basically, super cute, but get on her bad side and things start to burn and explode, and you know how I love explosions!

And...huh, now that I think about it, not a lot happened in this chapter besides sex, May, and more sex. Leave a review for me anyway, I love them!